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Lewis-Palmer spoils Mustangs home playoff game

Late comeback ends Fort Morgan's season

By Brandon Boles

Times Sports Reporter

Posted:
05/14/2016 08:43:30 PM MDT

Fort Morgan sophomore Grayson Garver (bottom, diving) dives head first into home plate on a double-steal in the bottom of the fifth against Lewis-Palmer on Saturday at Legion Field. Lewis-Palmer came back to force extra innings and defeated Fort Morgan 4-2 in nine innings (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

For the first time since 1997, playoff baseball was in Fort Morgan. After being given the No. 7 seed by CHSAA for district play earlier in the week, the Mustangs were prepared to take on Lewis-Palmer at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the winner being one more win away from state later at Legion Field.

In front of a packed crowd, the Mustangs and Rangers put fans on a roller coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs.

After grabbing a lead in the fifth inning and an insurance run in the sixth, the Mustangs looked to be on their way to a big win. Instead, Lewis-Palmer rallied in the seventh inning to force extras, and a clutch hit in the ninth inning gave the Rangers the 4-2 win to end Fort Morgan's season.

Neither team could find any offense in the first four innings as both teams sent their top aces to the hill. Fort Morgan was led by senior lefthander Kyle Daniels and Lewis-Palmer had their hard throwing senior, Paul Tillotson.

In two of the first five innings on the hill, Daniels got into trouble a few times with walks. Two were put on in the first inning, but a pickoff and solid pitching late in the inning got him out. A golden opportunity came for Lewis-Palmer in the third inning as they loaded the bases with one out after a single and two walks. Though the runners were on early, the Rangers struck out back-to-back to leave the bases loaded.

Daniels also got another big out to end the fifth inning and leave runners on second and third.

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Before the bottom of the fifth, the Mustangs had no hits and just two base runners. Once the team began to make contact on the fastball, the ball started to get put in play during the inning. Senior Kenny Keller got the first hit with a single, sophomore Grayson Garver reached on a fielder's choice, and senior Anthony Arroyo reached on an error from the third baseman.

Fort Morgan junior Adrian Marquez makes a catch right up to the fence along the first base side for an out (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

It was at this point head coach Josh Langford decided to roll the dice to try and score the first run of the game. On a pitch to the plate, Arroryo was on first base and stole second. The catcher for Lewis-Palmer threw to second base, which was the point that Garver, who was on third, sprinted home to try and steal the base. He dove head first into the plate and stretched out in time to touch the base before being tagged to give the Mustangs the 1-0 lead.

That lead would be extended on in the second inning as the Mustangs continued to put the ball in play. Senior Jacob Fritzler drilled a single into the outfield to score junior Trevor Shurtleff and give the team a 2-0 lead entering the ninth inning.

"I was proud of our boys for how we battled against their pitcher," head coach Josh Langford said. "He is a stud. We were very scrappy and tenacious. I thought we didn't give in and I felt we competed against a very elite pitcher today."

Fort Morgan had to turn to Shurtleff to pitch the seventh inning and get the save as Daniels reached his pitch count in the sixth. A single, walk, and fielder's choice quickly got the momentum back to Lewis-Palmer, who was trying to rally and keep its season alive. With one out, Billy Cook hit a single that scored two runs to tie the game. Shurtleff would get a strikeout to keep the score at 2-2.

In the late innings, the offense could not come up with the clutch hit. Runners were on third and second with one out in the seventh, but a new arm for Lewis-Palmer struck out sophomore Trey McBride and Fritzler to end the inning. Junior Nate Kage led off the eighth inning with a single but never moved up as the next three batters went down.

Lewis-Palmer, who had 10 free passes to first base by walk or hit by pitch through the first eight innings of play, made Fort Morgan finally pay for their free passes in the ninth inning. Shurtleff put a runner on by walk, intentionally walked a second runner after a wild pitch, and had a third walk with two outs to load the bases. Tristan Barkley, the pitcher that took over in the bottom of the seventh inning, drilled a pitch to the outfield to score two runs that gave the Rangers their first lead of the game 4-2.

"The walks today hurt, but (Lewis-Palmer) had their kids step up as well," Langford said. "They were able to drive a couple guys in when they needed it."

Barkley would then go on to close the game in the ninth to give the Rangers the win.

"We had a few opportunities late in the game, but we could not push that one run across that we needed," Langford said.

After the game, Langford told his team he was proud of their effort against a quality opponent. He would embrace a few hugs to his seniors as well for completing their high school baseball careers.

"I'm proud of our seniors and how they led the team throughout the whole season," Langford said. "They really represented our high school and community well."

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